The Prisoner of Beauty

Although Feng Zhao had temporarily retreated from Hongnong, the remaining Qiang people in the Huangshui region, led by the Beihe Tribe, also sent messages expressing their willingness to submit. However, the situation in this area was complex. Feng Zhao had entrenched himself here for many years, and with Xing Xun backing him, he could regroup and counterattack at any moment. Additionally, the Shaodang Qiang were lurking nearby, waiting for an opportunity.

Wei Shao was extremely busy.

After the first battle, he had planned to find a moment to return to Jinyang to see Xiao Qiao, as he missed her. However, he hadn’t intended to leave immediately.

But upon hearing this news from Gongsun Yang, he became furious and could no longer delay his departure.

Such an incident had occurred, and yet it had been concealed from him!

If it hadn’t been Gongsun Yang who told him, but anyone else under his command, he would have likely overturned the table in a fit of rage.

About a month ago, he had received a letter from her.

Only now did he learn that just a few days before she wrote that letter, she had experienced a terrifying and dangerous ordeal.

Yet, even in her letter, she hadn’t mentioned a single word about it to him.

She had only casually mentioned that she had inadvertently saved the grandson of the Beihe Tribe’s leader and had sent him home.

Everyone had kept it from him! Even she hadn’t said a word to him!

Filled with anger, heartache, lingering fear, and a hint of disappointment, Wei Shao set off on the road back to Jinyang that very day.

……

Several days later. On this starry night, a group of riders galloped through the gates of Jinyang, heading straight toward the government office in the northern part of the city.

The Tiger Guard on duty at the entrance of the office was startled to see a group of riders emerging from the hazy night, charging in their direction.

With only a few dozen feet left, the riders showed no signs of slowing down.

At the command of the squad leader, the Tiger Guard quickly formed an archer formation, ready to fire arrows to halt the riders. But in the blink of an eye, the group had already closed the distance.

The squad leader recognized the man at the forefront—it was the Lord. He hastily ordered the way to be cleared.

The double red doors of the government office swung open, and the Tiger Guard saluted in military fashion.

Wei Shao’s warhorse finally came to a stop, its body drenched in sweat, breathing heavily with loud snorts. Once the reins were loosened, it could no longer hold itself up, its front knees buckling and kneeling to the ground.

For the past half-month since returning from Huangshui, Jia Si had personally led the night watch every evening. Tonight, as usual, he was patrolling near the inner gate leading to the courtyard when a subordinate rushed to report that the Lord had entered the main gate and was heading toward the second gate.

Jia Si was startled and quickly turned to greet him. Just as he reached the second gate, he saw a familiar figure striding toward him from a distance.

Jia Si immediately knelt on one knee at the foot of the five-step staircase and loudly announced, “General Jia Si, respectfully welcomes the Lord’s return!”

Wei Shao initially seemed not to hear him, not even pausing as he strode past, quickly covering a dozen steps.

Jia Si didn’t dare to look up at first, only feeling a slight breeze from the hem of Wei Shao’s robe brush past his face. Only then did he dare to raise his eyes, watching the Lord’s hurried figure disappear into the inner courtyard.

His anxious heart eased slightly.

He slowly exhaled and was just getting up from the ground when he suddenly saw the Lord’s figure pause, stop, and then turn back, striding toward him again. His heart leaped, and he hurriedly knelt down once more.Wei Shao returned to Jia Si and asked coldly, "Is the lady inside?"

"Reporting to the Lord, the lady is inside."

"What were my instructions before I left?" His voice was as hard as stone.

Jia Si kowtowed repeatedly, "The Lord instructed that protecting the lady was the top priority! It was entirely my dereliction of duty! Please punish me, Lord!"

Wei Shao took a deep breath, his voice even colder, "Tell me in detail what happened that night! Do not omit a single word!"

Jia Si was Lin Huben's superior. That day, he had initially continued to mistakenly pursue Chen Rui. The next day, realizing something was wrong, he turned back and learned of the incident. After the event, he naturally questioned Lin Huben in detail about what had happened. Since it involved the lady's privacy, he had not been able to speak of the details to Gongsun Yang that day. Now, being questioned by the Lord, he dared not conceal anything and recounted everything from the beginning.

Gongsun Yang only had a general idea of what had happened that night. Through his account, Wei Shao had only a simple understanding.

Wei Shao only knew that Chen Rui had sneaked into the inner courtyard through the waterway in the backyard in the middle of the night, intending to abduct Xiao Qiao, but was stopped and shot dead on the spot. He knew nothing of the other details.

It was precisely because he didn't know that he was even more uneasy, rushing back day and night. Now, as he gradually understood that Chen Rui had broken into Xiao Qiao's bedroom in the middle of the night, Xiao Qiao had delayed him for some time, intentionally alerting Chun Niang in the adjacent room, and then, when Chen Rui tried to forcibly take her away, she had struggled to keep him outside the door, and the night guards had rushed in and shot Chen Rui. Wei Shao's palms were drenched in cold sweat, his shock and anger indescribable.

After Jia Si finished his account, he hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to mention the final scene. He looked up and met the Lord's piercing gaze, shivering. He thought to himself, even if I don't mention it now, others might. Even if others don't, the lady herself will surely tell the Lord about what happened...

Remembering the Lord's earlier words, "Do not omit a single word," Jia Si dared not hold back and, with a determined heart, added, "There was one more incident at the end..."

Wei Shao remained motionless.

Jia Si, with a stiff neck, said in a low voice, "I wasn't there at the time and didn't witness it myself. But according to Deputy General Lin, after Chen Rui was shot with over a dozen arrows and fell to the ground, the lady came out of her room and approached him, probably wanting to question him. Seeing that he was already dead, the lady, out of compassion, ordered Deputy General Lin to dig a pit and bury him whole. Unexpectedly, at that moment, Chen Rui came back to life, and before anyone could react, he lunged at the lady, grabbing and biting her foot, and said something before finally dying..."

"What did he say?"

Jia Si, lacking courage, hesitated to speak.

"What did he say?!"

Hearing the Lord's sudden roar, Jia Si's forehead dripped with sweat, "According to Deputy General Lin, it seems he said... the lady is beautiful... that even if he died beneath her... he would be willing..."

Jia Si finally stammered out the sentence he had never been able to forget, a sentence both shameful and deeply offensive. His heart pounded, his face flushed with heat, and he lowered his head, not daring to look at the Lord's expression.Wei Shao stood rigid for a moment, then suddenly drew his sword with a fierce motion. Jia Si felt a sharp gust of sword wind brush past his face, and a piercing sound of the blade slicing through something alien rang in his ears. In an instant, sparks flew everywhere. The head of the stone auspicious beast, which stood by the inner gate to ward off evil spirits in the residence, was cleanly severed by Wei Shao's sword. It fell to the ground with a loud "thud," rolling several steps away before finally coming to a stop.

The surroundings fell into complete silence.

The air of the late spring night seemed to freeze.

Jia Si knelt near the headless stone beast, not daring to breathe too loudly.

"Go and dig that bastard out! Wait for me to personally tear him to pieces!"

Each word seemed to be squeezed out from between Wei Shao's teeth.

Jia Si acknowledged the order.

Wei Shao turned and strode inside.

Jia Si, who had been sweating profusely earlier, now felt cold sweat pouring out, soaking his inner robe. Only when the Lord's figure completely disappeared from sight did he glance at the severed head of the stone beast on the ground and let out a long sigh of relief.

...

It was already the end of April.

Nearly a month had passed since that incident.

Xiao Qiao still had Chun Niang accompany her at night when she slept.

The illness she had developed from the fright had initially improved after finding Yuan, as her mood lifted and she took some calming medicine for a few days. However, due to the unpredictable weather recently, which alternated between warm and cold, making it easy for evil toxins to invade, she had suffered from nightmares again while sleeping at night, screaming and unable to wake up. That same night, she developed a fever again. Chun Niang was so anxious that she called for a doctor and took care of her, and only in the past couple of days had she shown some improvement. However, Xiao Qiao was still not fully recovered, feeling listless and unwilling to move much. Chun Niang dared not leave her side, even laying out a bed by her bedside at night to personally accompany her.

That evening, Xiao Qiao took her medicine and, due to the effects of the medicine, fell asleep early.

Chun Niang had been doing needlework in the room, making knee pads, and occasionally glancing back at Xiao Qiao lying in bed.

As the night deepened, Chun Niang sent the maids to rest. After finishing one knee pad, she put down her needlework, rubbed her waist, and was about to go to sleep when she suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to instruct the cook to soak the silver ear fungus overnight for the next day's soup. She glanced back at Xiao Qiao, saw that she was sleeping soundly, and quietly opened the door to go to the small kitchen. She selected the silver ear fungus, soaked it, and returned to the room. Just as she was about to close the door and latch it, she heard footsteps in the courtyard.

At this late hour, unless there was an emergency, no one should be entering the inner courtyard without being summoned. Moreover, the footsteps sounded like those of a man.

Chun Niang felt suspicious. Although she thought it unlikely that any trouble would arise again with Jia Si and the others guarding day and night, she couldn't help but recall the incident from a month ago and felt a lingering fear. She paused, slightly opened the door, and peeked outside.

A lantern hung in the corridor, illuminating the figure of someone quickly ascending the steps.

It was Wei Shao.

Chun Niang was both surprised and delighted. She glanced back at Xiao Qiao, saw that she was still asleep, and gently opened the door to step out. She made a gesture for silence to the approaching Lord and then led him to a spot farther away before apologizing, "The lady is asleep, and I was afraid of disturbing her, so I had to trouble you, my Lord, to speak here for a moment. Please forgive this servant's rudeness."Wei Shao glanced at the lit windows and doors, asking in a low voice, "How is she?"

Chun Niang, hearing his tone, guessed that he must already know about the incident that happened a month ago. She replied, "At first, the lady was quite frightened and fell ill. She had already recovered, but unexpectedly, a few days ago, she had nightmares while sleeping and developed a fever that night. Fortunately, the fever has subsided these past two days, but she still has a bit of a cough and seems listless. She took her medicine early and went to sleep, and she hasn't woken up yet."

"When did the Lord return?" Chun Niang asked respectfully.

Wei Shao didn't answer. He stood there, seemingly lost in thought for a moment, then said, "I understand. You must have been very tired these days. Go and rest." After saying this, he turned and walked inside.

Chun Niang quickly called out to him, "The lady was quite frightened at the time, and even now, she doesn't sleep very soundly at night. The Lord must... must be gentle and careful, so as not to startle her again."

She hesitated for a moment, but her affection for Xiao Qiao ultimately outweighed everything else, and she softly advised.

Wei Shao didn't say anything, just turned around, walked to the door, gently pushed it open, and stepped inside.

......

Xiao Qiao wasn't sleeping very soundly. In her drowsiness, her throat felt itchy, and she coughed a few times, waking up. She felt a bit bloated in her lower abdomen. Without opening her eyes, she subconsciously mumbled, "Chun Niang, I need to use the restroom..."

Even now, she still felt uneasy going to the bathroom alone at night. She always needed Chun Niang to accompany her to the door. As she spoke half of the sentence, her mind suddenly woke up. She realized it was the middle of the night. Chun Niang had been taking care of her for the past month, doing everything herself, and must be exhausted.

She rubbed her eyes and was about to quietly get up by herself when suddenly a pair of strong arms reached out from behind and gently lifted her out of the bed.

This definitely couldn't be Chun Niang's arms.

She didn't have such strength.

Xiao Qiao was stunned and fully awakened. Her heart instantly started racing. She was about to cry out in surprise when a man's low voice whispered in her ear, "It's me. I'm back. Don't be afraid."

She was very familiar with this voice. But the tone was one she had never heard before—so gentle.

She slowly opened her eyes and met Wei Shao's gaze as he looked down at her, their eyes intertwining.